Hi Anne, I do agree. And I grew quite fond of Kenn as I read the book!
I thought you may be interested in some of the findings of my PhD The study
was of American birders who were in a committed relationship.
Many of those surveyed were serious listers (some had lists of 7000 birds or
more). Yet overall, their bird lists were shorter than those reported among
birders elsewhere. There appeared to be a number of reasons for this. For
example, most, particularly men, preferred to watch birds with their spouse,
and changed their behaviour to facilitate a less serious partner’s involvement.
Some, reportedly, became more safety-conscious as a result of the relationship
(just as well - these people reported quite a few near-death experiences while
birding!).
As well some couples reported that they kept a joint list. Indeed a few
referred to any species that only one of them had seen as a ‘half-bird’ - it
was only counted when both had seen it.
Kind regards
Denise
Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
PO Box 71
Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841
043 8650 835
PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.
Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia
Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International Ecotourism Award, 2004.
With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent
becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian.
On 20 May 2016, at 7:14 am, Anne Brophy <> wrote:
> Hi Denise & Peter,
>
> I found the nicest part of the story was the gradual change in Kaufmann from
> being driven by the one goal of 'numbers' to the inability to separate these
> 'numbers' from the magnificence of birds and nature as a whole. I'd expect,
> or hope, many who do a big year would have such a revelation. Maybe that was
> left in the 70's though...
>
> His description of Sky Larks on San Juan and his time spent on Gambell, are
> worth the price of the book alone!
>
> Kind regards,
> Anne
>
> On 20 May 2016, at 12:19 AM, Denise Goodfellow <>
> wrote:
>
>> And is the effort always worth? Kenn Kaufman wrote (p. 284) that “the larger
>> (his list) grew the less important or even interesting it seemed.”
>>
>>
>> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
>> PO Box 71
>> Darwin River, NT, Australia 0841
>> 043 8650 835
>>
>> PhD candidate, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.
>>
>> Founding Member: Ecotourism Australia
>> Nominated by Earthfoot for Condé Nast’s International Ecotourism Award,
>> 2004.
>>
>> With every introduction of a plant or animal that goes feral this continent
>> becomes a little less unique, a little less Australian.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 19 May 2016, at 9:10 pm, Peter Shute <> wrote:
>>
>>> I haven't read Kingbird Highway, but I see that it's set in 1973. I believe
>>> Roy Wheeler and Kevin Bartram, who did their Australian big years not that
>>> long after, also didn't drive.
>>>
>>> I think it would be impossible to break the record these days without a
>>> driving licence, and a lot of time and a lot of cash, let alone the
>>> organisational and birding skills and luck that have always been required.
>>>
>>> Given the increasing difficulty of breaking the record, can these attempts
>>> continue indefinitely? Surely a time will come when the personal cost won't
>>> be worth the tiny chances of beating the record. And surely, as the record
>>> gets harder to beat, the temptation to take "shortcuts" will increase, and
>>> with it the need to provide the proof that is being asked of John Wiegel.
>>> It's a big ask to expect someone to get a photo of every bird, and as we
>>> saw in a recent Victorian big year, even a photo can be insufficient proof.
>>>
>>> Are big years becoming impractical?
>>>
>>> Peter Shute
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>>> On 19 May 2016, at 3:12 PM, Anne Brophy <> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Have just finished reading 'Kingbird Highway' by Kenn Kaufman. What a
>>>> wonderful tale of an early 'big year' and the culture of American birding
>>>> it describes. What more, the whole year was completed when the author was
>>>> barely in his twenties and he hitchhiked the whole way. Highly recommended
>>>> read!
>>>>
>>>>> On 19 May 2016, at 1:12 PM, John Harris <>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Alastair,
>>>>> I thought the whole "Big Year" was about not putting it out there publicly
>>>>> that you are doing it!! Having read "The Big Year", it seemed that the
>>>>> best
>>>>> strategy was to remain quiet about whether "you" were doing a big year and
>>>>> let others who may be doing one also make up their own mind about your
>>>>> intentions.... So much different to over here, where birding folk are
>>>>> happy
>>>>> to get on board with someone's efforts as was shown with Sean Dooley's
>>>>> "Big
>>>>> Twitch" and John's own efforts.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers.
>>>>>
>>>>> John
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> *Yours in all things* "*GREEN"*
>>>>>
>>>>> *John Harris BASc, GDipEd*
>>>>> *Croydon, Vic*
>>>>> *Director - Wildlife Experiences Pty Ltd*
>>>>> *Principal **Zoologist/**Ecologist*
>>>>> *Nature Photographer*
>>>>> *Wildlife Guide*
>>>>>
>>>>> *www.wildlifeexperiences.com.au <http://www.wildlifeexperiences.com.au>*
>>>>>
>>>>> *www.facebook.com/wildlifeexperiences/
>>>>> <http://www.facebook.com/wildlifeexperiences/>*
>>>>> <>*
>>>>> *www.flickr.com/photos/wildlifeexperiences
>>>>> <http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildlifeexperiences>*
>>>>> *0409090955*
>>>>>
>>>>> *Past President, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria*
>>>>> *(www.fncv.org.au <http://www.fncv.org.au/>)*
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 19 May 2016 at 11:14, A Smith <> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> G’day Tim,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks for the link.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I think you may be over stating things a bit. I have followed Olaf since
>>>>>> 1
>>>>>> January and nothing that I have read has slandered John. Like anyone
>>>>>> doing
>>>>>> a big year Olaf wants to know who the competition is. That said, I assume
>>>>>> John (like me) is a fairly novice North American birder and therefore he
>>>>>> should expect to have his sightings queried. Great that he has the photos
>>>>>> and hopefully he’ll find time to blog.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards
>>>>>> Alastair
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 18 May 2016, at 20:17, Tim <> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> As some are aware but others may not be John Weigel is doing an
>>>>>> American big year in true Weigel fashion. He has not been home since late
>>>>>> December and won't be until January 17. You can follow his blog here
>>>>>> although at present it's simply a running list as his time is consumed by
>>>>>> chasing rarities that has not stopped
>>>>>> http://www.birdingfordevils.com/?m=1
>>>>>> !
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> He hadn't published his list until several days ago and since doing so
>>>>>> it's fair to say he has been slandered by his competition who wasn't
>>>>>> aware
>>>>>> John was doing the big year 2016 and Is perhaps caught a little by
>>>>>> surprise. He has even had his sightings questioned! See here
>>>>>> http://olafsbigyear.blogspot.com.au/2016/05/free-nipple.html?m=1
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Johns previous Australian 'big years' have left no doubt about his
>>>>>> credibility. He photographed almost every single bird! He has done the
>>>>>> same this year but has been unable to edit his 40,000 photographs and
>>>>>> post
>>>>>> them. He will in due course.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The year is shaping up to be the stuff movies are made of!! He's also
>>>>>> raising funds for Devil Ark (Tasmanian devil breeding facility)
>>>>>> throughout
>>>>>> the year).
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> John is currently on the world famous Attu chasing Megas and cannot
>>>>>> respond at present. I encourage Australian birders to follow the action
>>>>>> and
>>>>>> support John!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> He is a great bloke and I trust this group will enjoy following and
>>>>>> Aussie take it internationally!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> All the best!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sincerely Tim Faulkner
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
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